be a foregone conclusion

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe a foregone conclusionbe a foregone conclusionCERTAINLY/DEFINITELYto be certain to happen, even though it has not yet officially happenedThe outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion. →conclusion

be a foregone conclusion• But the outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion.• Some commentators and businessmen have suggested that the successful privatization of the National Freight Corporation was a foregone conclusion.• For three more years, Masada continued to hold out, but its fall was a foregone conclusion.• They never had to plan their shared parenting; it was a foregone conclusion.• It is a foregone conclusion that the homosexual laws will not be reformed yet.• The result was a foregone conclusion.• But none of these is a foregone conclusion.• Do not be deterred from exercising your right of appeal by the belief that the outcome will be a foregone conclusion.